FIG. 1 illustrates a chain of gain stages 2 for a prior art logarithmic amplifier (log amp). A series of detector cells 4 combine the outputs from the gain stages to generate a logarithmic output VOUT. The gain stages are typically implemented as limiting amplifiers having the form A/0. That is, for small inputs, the gain stages have an incremental gain of A, but at a certain point, the output is limited, and the incremental gain becomes zero as shown in FIG. 2. The response of the system of FIG. 1 is:
                              V          OUT                =                              V            y                    ⁢          log          ⁢                                          ⁢                      (                                          V                                  I                  ⁢                                                                          ⁢                  N                                                            V                x                                      )                                              (                  Eq          .                                          ⁢          1                )            where Vy and Vx are parameters that are built into the system and define its calibration. Referring to FIG. 3, Vy scales the slope, and Vx is the intercept along the horizontal axis. The intercept is usually an extrapolated parameter because in practice, it is unlikely that the output will drop below the nose floor as shown with the broken line in FIG. 3. Both Vx and Vy may be temperature dependent, and must therefore be temperature compensated to maintain the accuracy of the log amp. These are matters that have received close attention in prior invention.